Vehicle causes Grass Valley power outage, witnesses report

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A reported vehicle collision with a telephone pole resulted in a power outage in Grass Valley Tuesday evening.

Large sections of the city went dark shortly after 6 p.m., emanating from a blown transformer on Ridge Road, according to Pacific Gas and Electric’s online outage reporting system.

The entire Cypress Hill community was reportedly blacked out, said Mayor Jan Arbuckle. Eyewitnesses reported Sierra Nevada Hospital, Sierra College’s Grass Valley campus, the Nevada County Fairgrounds and businesses along East Main Street, such as Sierra Cinemas and the Shell gas station, all experienced power failures in some capacity, according to eyewitnesses.

Residents on the 2000 block of Ridge Road reported hearing a crash right before the power went out.

Resident Donna MacMillen looked out her window to see “fireworks coming out of the telephone pole,” she said.

By the time she came out of her home, she saw a truck speeding down the road and peeling out, she told The Union.

Two people who commented on The Union’s Facebook page reported that the outage affected more than 3,000 residences.

Several attempts to reach PG&E officials for comment resulted in no responses. The company’s online reporting system indicated that the transformer would be replaced by 10:30 p.m.

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